Tributes and Memorials

A Tribute or Memorial Gift is an especially meaningful way to recognize friends, family, colleagues, and special occasions, while at the same time supporting the American Philosophical Society's mission.

Your contribution will be acknowledged with a personalized card sent to the honored individual or family—without reference, of course, to the amount of the gift. In addition, the name of the individual being honored will be listed in the Society’s Report to Donors.

Gifts may be mailed to:

Development Department
American Philosophical Society
104 South Fifth Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Please remember to include the name and address of the person who should be notified of your generosity.

For more information, please contact please contact the Development office at 215-440-3434 or [email protected].

Click to donate online for Tributes and Memorials.

Access
Public

APS Friends & Alumni

The American Philosophical Society established the Friends of the APS in 2009 to engage wider audiences in Benjamin Franklin’s visionary mission of “promoting useful knowledge.” Today, Friends and Alumni of the Society's grant and fellowship programs contribute critical unrestricted funds and designated donations to the Society’s independent research library, public museum, publications, and research program that provides support to early-career scholars and scientists for projects around the globe.  

Your support will help steward national treasures, promote new knowledge, and open the Society’s doors for public learning and enjoyment. The APS welcomes unrestricted gifts, but you may also designate your annual contribution for the Library, the Museum, Research/Grants, and/or Publications.

Contribute Now

Supporting Friends and Alumni enjoy engaging opportunities for intellectual fellowship. Private offerings include:

  • Exhibition previews, public lectures, and scholarly presentations
  • Exclusive behind-the-scenes tours
  • Advance notice and registration for special programs
  • Networking and "meet up" gatherings, on- and off-site 

Gift Levels and Benefits

Contributors are invited to enjoy a full year of engagement opportunities. All levels receive monthly e-news and recognition in the Society’s Annual Report.

For more information, please contact the Development office at  215-440-3434 or [email protected].

Learn more about gift levels and benefits.

Contribute Now

Signature image
Birch print of Independence Hall
Access
Public

Members’ Annual Fund

The annual contributions of the APS’s elected Members and their families are critical to the operation of the Society. This support makes possible all of the APS’s core programs by helping to meet the costs of staffing, facilities, and administrative expenses. It would be impossible to carry on the day-to-day work of the APS without these charitable contributions.

The Members’ Annual Fund allows you to support more than one core program with a single gift distributed according to your preferences. As always, the APS welcomes unrestricted gifts, but you may also designate your annual contribution for the Meetings, the Library, the Museum, Research/Grants, and/or Publications.

Gifts to the APS are fully tax-deductible in accordance with the IRS code.

For further information, please contact the Development office at 215-599-4293 or [email protected].

 Contribute Now

 

Donor Recognition

 

chart of member levels

Contribute Now

Signature image
Archival item
Access
Public

Ways to Give

We welcome the opportunity to assist you and your advisors with the planning of your gift. Here are a few of the many ways to give:

 

Cash

Cash gifts may be made by check or credit card.

Checks should be made payable to the American Philosophical Society and sent to:

Development Office 
American Philosophical Society 
104 South Fifth Street 
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Online gifts may be made by credit card (VISA or MasterCard) to the Fund for the American Philosophical Society through: The Members’ Annual Fund or Friends of the American Philosophical Society.

ACH and Wire Transfers

The Society’s banking information has changed.  If you wish to make a gift via ACH or wire transfer, please contact Nancy Finn, Director of Development, at 215-440-3434 or [email protected] to receive the Society’s updated wiring or ACH instructions.

Assets

Assets that you no longer need, such as life insurance, real estate, undeveloped land, art, or jewelry, are an alternative to cash.

Donor Advised Funds or Private Foundations

The APS accepts gifts from donor advised funds and private foundations.

Appreciated Securities

Gifts of appreciated securities (held for more than one year) may be beneficial to you in terms of avoiding capital gains taxation. SECURITIES may be transferred directly into the APS’s gift account at Merrill Lynch, account #8FW02056, DTC #8862. For tax purposes, and in accordance with IRS regulations, gifts of securities are valued by calculating the mean between a stock’s high and low on the date of gift, which is generally the date on which it is transferred into the APS’s account.

To ensure proper gift recognition, please contact the Development office at 
215-440-3434 or [email protected] with the name of the donor, as well as the name and number of shares to be donated. Banks will not provide the names of donors.

Gifts of Tangible Personal Property

Gifts of Tangible Personal Property are of interest to both the Library and the Museum, in accordance with their respective collecting policies.

Other Ideas

There are also gifts that leave your cash flow uninterrupted, such as bequest intentions or revocable trusts. Or you may consider making us a beneficiary of your retirement plan. You can also make a gift that pays you life income. Gift annuities and charitable trusts will pay you income for life with the remainder benefiting the APS.

Gifts to the APS are tax-deductible in accordance with IRS regulations. For additional information, please contact the Development office at 215-440-3434 or [email protected]. 

 
 

 

Access
Public

Staff

Executive Offices and Museum Gallery
104 South Fifth Street 
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3387
215-440-3400 | Fax 215-440-3450

Library
105 South Fifth Street
Philadelphia, Pa 19106-3386
215-440-3400 | Fax 215-440-3423

Patrick Spero
Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]

John Wolfe
Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]

Linda R. Jacobs
Senior Advisor and Director of Strategic Initiatives
[email protected]

Christina Ferris
Accounts Payable Associate
[email protected]

Brunilda Matraku
Controller and HR Coordinator
[email protected]

Megan Romney
Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]

Communications

Grayson Morley
Communications Manager
[email protected]

Isabella Kolic
Communications Assistant
[email protected]

Development

Nancy Finn
Director of Development
[email protected]

Chela Weiler
Assistant for Development and Research
[email protected]

Facilities

Nikolai A. Goripow
Custodial Supervisor
[email protected]

Pierre Nicholson
Custodian

Jeremy Schoenrock
Assistant Facilities Supervisor
[email protected]

Todd Schoenrock
Custodian
[email protected]

Grants and Fellowships

Linda Musumeci
Director of Grants and Fellowships
[email protected]

Alyssa Brophy
Research and Membership Assistant
[email protected]

Library & Museum

Susan Anderson
Archivist and Records Manager
[email protected]

Sabrina Bocanegra
Head of Digital Access
[email protected]

Brian Carpenter
Curator of Indigenous Materials
[email protected]

Laura Chilton
Cataloger
[email protected]

Marian Christ
Associate Librarian and Head of Cataloging
[email protected]

Asia Cureton
Assistant to the Director of the Library & Museum
[email protected]

Tracey deJong
Processing Archivist
[email protected]

Joseph DiLullo
Head of Reference
[email protected]

David J. Gary
Associate Director of Collections
[email protected]

Charles Greifenstein
Manuscript Processor
and Curator of Manuscripts, Emeritus
[email protected]

Magdalena Hoot
Curatorial Associate
[email protected]

Jessica Hutchison
MarBina Rothblatt Digital Archivist
[email protected]

Deanna Johnson
Visitor Services Coordinator
[email protected]

Elias G. Larralde
MarBina Rothblatt Digital Archivist
[email protected] 

Adrianna Link
Curator of History of Science
[email protected]

Valerie-Ann Lutz
Assistant Librarian and Head of Manuscripts Processing
[email protected]

Brendan McConville
Head of the David Center for the American Revolution
[email protected]

Bayard L. Miller
Associate Director of Digital Initiatives & Technology
[email protected]

Michael P. Miller
Head of Access Services and Registrar
[email protected]

Sophie Mwaisela
Front Desk & Library Support Assistant
[email protected]

David Nelson
Digital Scholarship Programmer
[email protected]

Caroline O'Connell
Exhibitions Curator
[email protected]

Melanie Rinehart
Archivist
[email protected]

Ruth Rouvier
Native American Scholars Initiative Engagement Coordinator
[email protected]

Yumi Dineen Shiroma
Digital Projects Specialist
[email protected]

Paul Sutherland
Archivist of Indigenous Materials
[email protected]

Karen Trop
CNAIR Reference Archivist
[email protected]

Fleur van der Woude 
Assistant Paper Conservator
[email protected]

Mary Grace Wahl
Associate Director of the Museum
[email protected]

Renée Wolcott
Head of Conservation
[email protected]

Programs

Brenna Holland
Director of Programs
[email protected]

Thomas Johns
Programs Associate
[email protected]

Catherine Person
Head of Education Programs
[email protected] 

Alexandra Rospond
Education Programs Manager
[email protected]

Ella Scalese
Programs Assistant
[email protected]

Membership

Erin Farrell
Coordinator of Membership and Prizes
[email protected]

APS Press

Kimberly Guinta
Director, The APS Press 
[email protected]

Peter Dougherty
Editor-at-Large
[email protected]

James Chung McKenna
Marketing & Publicity Associate
[email protected]

David Carpenter
Editorial Assistant
[email protected]

Access
Public

Officers & Council

Updated April 2025

Officers & Council

AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Patron
The Governor of Pennsylvania

President
Roger S. Bagnall
2023-2026

Vice Presidents
  
Nina G. Jablonski 2023-2026
---
Jacqueline K. Barton 2024-2027
---
Harvey Fineberg 2025-2028

Curator of Art and Material Culture
Leslie C. Aiello

Curator of the Jefferson Garden
Leslie Miller

Treasurer
Marna C. Whittington 2025-2028

Secretary
David Skorton 2025-2028

Chief Executive Officer
Patrick Spero

Councilors

 2023-20262024-20272025-2028
Class 1Dusa McDuffVijay KumarJoanna Aizenberg
Class 2Richard E. LenskiRonald M. FairmanJianguo 'Jack' Liu
Class 3David HollingerRobert James MillerRogers Smith
Class 4Richard KaganPaul W. KrollJulia Haig Gaisser
Class 5Margaret H. MarshallMark ThompsonAmy Gutmann

Council consists of the above elected Officers and Councilors, and the Chairs of the Committees on Audit, Budget, Development, Investment, Library & Museum, Nomination of Officers, and Research: Alan S. Blinder, Marna C. Whittington, Richard B. Worley, Theodore R. Aronson, Leslie Aiello, Elizabeth Cropper, and Jonathan R. Cole. 

Executive Committee

Roger S. Bagnall, 
Jacqueline K. Barton, Harvey Fineberg, Nina G. Jablonski, 
Marna Whittington,
David Skorton,
Patrick Spero

File attachments
Officers of the APS Since 1769 (38930 B)
Access
Public